The human knee joint is prone to produce scar tissue after operation on the joint. The stretching of scar and muscle tissue in the human knee joint after post operative knee surgery and/or total knee replacement is often necessary. A common problem with total knee replacements or any surgical procedure involving the knee is the formation of post operative scar tissue. Scar tissue is the body's natural healing response to surgical trauma. Unfortunately scar tissue can inhibit a person from regaining full range of motion in the involved area or joint.
Methods of stretching a knee in a physical therapy setting include bending of the knee while the patient is seated with both legs hanging over the edge of the table and/or while the patient is lying prone (on his stomach).
However, while the patient is seated, the pressure put on the leg to stretch the knee into flexion may result in the patient unconsciously lifting their buttocks off the table as a response to the pain or discomfort from the stretch. This approach thus creates a false sense of increased range of motion due to the hips being lifted off the table. As such, the angle of the knee does not appreciably change giving a reduced benefit to the patient. In addition, the patient's heel and calf may hit or be inhibited by the understructure of the table thus preventing any further progression of the range of motion of the joint. When a patient is in the prone position, the quadriceps muscles are stretched instead of the areas within the knee that need the stretching, which areas include those directly over the knee joint. Accordingly, the traditional methods of stretching a knee joint can retard the progression of range of motion and may therefore limit the effect of treatment and may inhibit a successful outcome.
Devices known in the art include those directed to an approach wherein the patient is relied upon to do the stretching. It has been shown that this method of self stretching is much less effective than having another person, preferably a therapist; apply the stretch for the patient. In addition, known devices are bulky and not space efficient thus limiting their usefulness.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,689,028 to Smith (“Smith”) is generally directed towards a medical appliance for assisting in the performance of exercises for regaining lost range of motion in a previously traumatized knee joint of the leg of a patient having a planar leg support with a first end and a second end, the leg support further having a cushion attached on the first end thereof, the cushion surrounding the first end of the planar support and being further adapted for fitment adjacent to and behind the knee joint to support and locate the lower leg for performance of exercises, and an elongate stretcher removably attachable to the to the leg support whereby the patient may apply force to the to the stretcher increasing the range of movement in the previously traumatized knee.
However, Smith and others in the art fail to disclose a device which is height adjustable and/or which provide support for the limb to which physical therapy is being applied. In addition, in view of the delicate nature of the posterior human knee, the designs of devices known in the art are far too rigid and non-conforming to provide adequate comfort to the patient, thus limiting their usefulness. This failure in the art to recognize the need for providing support and comfort may result in longer stretch times which may be unsafe do to potential nerve irritation and circulatory deprivation.
Other references generally directed to exercise and stretching of the knee include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,229,001; 4,844,454; 5,026,049; 5,324,245; 5,647,823; and 6,416,448.
What is needed in the art is a method and device wherein the quadriceps get stretched as well as the knee joint were the scar tissue is most prevalent. After the scar tissue has been relieved through vigorous stretching, the knee joint can function in a more physiologically functional manner.